YvonneIntroduction: Tuesday
“How was your day?” Timmy asked.
“Shut up,” said Mandy, her words dropping like boulders on Timmy’s head, shattering to pieces on the floor.
“That bad?” He wanted to run over to her quickly and abrasively grab her arms, telling her it would all be O.K., that suffering did not exist, pulling her toward him in a grand manner; their embrace matching that of blackandwhiteromances, but life was not like that; reality was never black and white.
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NB. Some sections of the book are written ‘scriptio continua’, that is without spaces or other marks between words or sentences and are an integral and intentional element of the story.
Poetic Fiction isn’t a genre that I tend to read on a regular basis, unless as a specific review request. However the premise for ‘And The Soft Wind Blows, offered such a unique and interesting reading experience, that I was just too intrigued to pass up the review offer from its author, Lance Umenhofer.
If you want to find out more about the book, you can click on the book image, or to find out more about both book and author, click here …
Check out some of the moving poetry and prose Lance has written, by clicking through from his website homepage, to the blog link … you won’t be disappointed!
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WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click here and visit Gilion @ Rose City Reader
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time?
I can’t wait to do a little blog hopping myself and check out all the great Book Beginnings you have!
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As this was an invitation to read and review, a complimentary PDF document of ‘And The Soft Wind Blows’, was gifted to me, by its author, Lance Umenhofer.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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While it gets off to an interesting start, I’m not certain that “scriptio continua” wouldn’t start wearing thin after awhile! I guess it would just depend on how engaging the actual story was.
Here are the opening lines from what I’m reading (W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton):
“Two dead men changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I’d never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.”
Hi Kelly,
‘Happy 4th July’ and have a great holiday, are you doing anything special to celebrate?
I could never forget the date, even as a non American, as it is also my niece’s birthday!
‘And The Soft Wind Blows’ is a relatively short book at less than 150 pages. Even so, I am hoping that this particular technique isn’t used too much myself … for no other reason than it takes my poor old brain a while to separate the words and I don’t want that to detract from what promises to be some great writing.
I really do want to add the Sue Grafton series to my own list and have done for some time, but I just know that I would never get through all the books and a few people I know who are avid followers, do say that this series needs to be started from the beginning to fully appreciate it! Who wouldn’t want to get stuck into a book with opening lines like that? .. Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy your weekend
Knowing that this book is so short, I’ll keep it in mind (and look forward to your full review).
Like most lengthy series, the Grafton books bogged down somewhat along about the middle of the alphabet. I’ve really enjoyed the last four or five, though, and hate the thought that “Z” isn’t far off. They definitely need to be read in order.
Nothing special planned for the 4th around here. Perhaps a steak on my tiny little grill. 🙂 Happy birthday wishes to your niece!
Hi Kelly,
The weather has turned decidedly changeable and chilly today, so it’s a good job we went for the restaurant option tomorrow, rather than a barbeque. By the way, my niece is also your namesake!
This sounds like a really different, interesting read! I love the description of the words dropping like boulders on his head. It describes the feeling of words hitting you really well! Definitely going to check this author and book! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I hope you have a great Fourth of July weekend!
My Friday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
Hi Juli,
I certainly enjoyed reading some of Lance’s poetry on his blog and also that which he shared in his recent guest post, here at Fiction Books. Here is the link if you feel like checking it out …
https://www.fiction-books.biz/meet-the-authors/guest-post-by-lance-umenhofer-author-of-and-the-soft-wind-blows/
I don’t recall ever having read anything in the genre of poetic fiction before, so I am looking forward to the challenge of this one.
Here in the UK, it isn’t a holiday this weekend, however I do have my own cause for celebration, as our niece was born on July 4th. As they live about 50 miles from us, we are having a belated celebratory family meal tomorrow night, so looking forward to that.
I hope that you too are having a good weekend so far and ‘Happy 4th of July’
Aw Timmy sounds so sweet, I have to say I’m pretty interested in this one now.
my BB and 56
Hi Fiza,
Thanks for stopping by to introduce yourself. I love ‘meeting’ new people, so your visits and comments will always be welcome and appreciated.
I am not sure whether Timmy is going to be quite such the sweet person he is being portrayed as in those opening lines, however the fact that reality is never black and white, is a definite fact!
Have a great weekend.
This is a book I most likely wouldn’t read. I don’t like poetry. Am I understand correctly that is what it is?
THANKS for sharing, and I hope you are having a good day.
Always nice to stop by your blog. Always something interesting going on.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Book Beginnings
Hi Elizabeth,
‘And The Soft Wind Blows’, isn’t strictly poetry in the traditional sense, but rather poetic fiction. A well known exponent of this genre, was Henry James and whilst I can only illustrate the writing of poetic fiction in a couple of brief extracts, if you would like to explore this medium further, here is a link to the excellent piece I discovered …
http://www.nku.edu/~emily/poetic.html
“James writes a passage that is a work of art, about works of art, both paintings and people. Like any great artist, the author utilizes these richly textured descriptions to illuminate a central message or theme, as in this instance the reader is better able to grasp both Ralph as observer and Isabel as judge; in other words, this passage is not simply aesthetically pleasing, but also an imperative, vital part of the work, or more appropriately, the big picture of the novel. In a sense, a passage such as this represents a single stroke of the brush, in a series of strokes that compose the stunning literary portrait of Isabel Archer, a portrait James uses to convey his themes of choice, thought, action and even obsession.”
“James writes in prose, which uses a more subtle approach to get across the meaning of a work. His prose develops methodically and gradually in its use of themes and virtues. This allows him to use a plot and story to interweave these themes together in one singular work. The best example I can provide is using the theme of beauty. James adored beauty and purposely created his stories so that beauty would be present throughout the work while also touching on other subjects. He wanted his novels to be viewed as beautiful works of art throughout their entirety.”
I must admit that I am finding the concept of poetic fiction quite illusive and difficult to grasp, however Lance also writes such fantastic and moving poetry, that I am more than willing to give his take on writing a novel a try.
Thanks for stopping by and for the kind comments you have left, I always appreciate them.
And The Soft Wind Blows sounds like a nice read and I do like the snippet you shared here. I myself do not mind the scriptio continua. I followed the link, and Lance’s website is a nice one.
Happy reading Yvonne!
Hi Naida,
I am not too sure about the scriptio continua, however with the book being a relatively short one, I am sure it isn’t going to detract from what promises to be some excellent and beautifully descriptive writing. Some of Lance’s poetry is very good, isn’t it? I am wondering if he will publish a collection of poems at some point in the future.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and I hope that you enjoyed a lovely holiday weekend. On top of all the other celebrations you have recently had, I guess that you are all partied out now! LOL
Sounds interesting. It’s very descriptive. Thanks for sharing! Here is my book beginning at Shut Up & Read
Hi Sheri,
I haven’t read anything from the genre of poetical fiction before, however I am assuming from what I have read, that the author takes the emotional and descriptive words usually associated with poetry and spins them out into longer sentences to form a piece of prose more akin to a novel. Lance Umenhofer’s poetry is definitely very encompassing and drew me in with its evocative imagery and emotions, so I have high hopes for this slightly longer short story.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I appreciate your comments.
I’ve never heard of this literary technique before! However, I doubt if I’d have the patience to wade through 150 pages where I had to separate words. I do like the image of “words like boulders.” Good imagery.
Hi Sandra,
Like many of Lance’s poems, this book sounds as though it has some excellent descriptive narrative, calculated to offer the reader some clear and all encompassing imagery.
Lance uses just about every technique in the book to make the most of each and every word and phrase, most of which terms I have never come across before. It is almost akin to reading musical terminology and I guess in its own way, is almost as lyrical.
This could be interesting though I’m not sure my brain could handle too much of this particular literary technique! I like the the opening so I’d be interested to hear more about it or grab it at the library but it probably isn’t a book I’d search out on my own yet!
Hi Katherine,
I don’t think this is a book that I would ever have gone off and bought for myself, however it is another of those review requests which has stretched me into reading a book way outside of my comfort zone and hopefully coming away feeling pleased with myself for having done so!
Thanks for stopping by, it is always great to have you visit.
Beautifully written and pretty much true, I think.
Many of Lance’s observations about life, even in those first few short lines, are very astute.
Life certainly isn’t all black and white, although I am one of those people who tries to compartmentalise things neatly into boxes! I don’t tend to do ‘grey areas’!
As you say, those first few lines are beautifully written and almost lyrical.
Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your comments.
Not usually a fan of this genre, this was my surprise read of last year in that I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on it.
Everyone knew why Remo Williams was going to die. The chief of the Newark Police Department told his close friends Williams was a sacrifice to the civil rights groups.
– Created The Destroyer by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.
Hi Tracy,
I have only recently decided to join Goodreads and am still working my way around the site. I can’t think why I didn’t join sooner, although it is just another distraction to keep up to date with!
I managed to find your review of this book and can tell that you obviously enjoyed it, albeit unexpectedly. I wonder if you checked out any of Lance’s traditional poetry on his blog, some of it is very emotional and can quite consume you in that particular moment in time.
Having checked out the synopsis for ‘Created The Destroyer’, I’m not sure that your book this week is one that I would enjoy and I definitely won’t be rushing out to buy it. The opening lines are quite deceptive though and I assumed that this would be much more of a traditional thriller.
I was interested to read that one of the authors, Warren Murphy, wrote the screenplay for ‘Lethal Weapon 2’, which is one of Dave’s all time favourite film series and one he will watch again and again!
I hope that I enjoy ‘And The Soft Wind Blows’ as much as you did and thanks for stopping by.